Trending Now

You are here

Mark Bair declares for county commission seat

Long-time Bingham County resident Mark Bair is running for the District 1 County Commissioner seat.
"I appreciate the community service people have given; I have time and the desire to repay some of those kindnesses," Bair said.
Bair grew up on a farm 20 miles west of Blackfoot. He and his family farmed the same land he grew up on until they sold it about four years ago. Bair and his wife, Sherrilynn, now live in the Kimball area near Firth.
"On the farm, I did the budgeting," Bair said. "Farm economies go up and down.
"I learned when a farm economy is down, there are ways to save money without cutting services," he said. "We fix up and repair and get by with what we have instead of buying stuff."
As a commissioner, Bair would like to see controlled growth.
"It will require the cooperation between the county and the cities," Bair said. "We need to encourage growth by bringing the right businesses like Premier Technology.
"I think a commissioner is like an ambassador to show off the county," he said.
Bair served six years on the board of the Bingham Farm Service Agency (FSA). FSA regulates farm programs on the county level.
Bair has also worked with the Farm Bureau.
"With Farm Bureau, I recently had opportunity to participate in its Legislative Conference in Boise," Bair said. The number of farmers is diminishing as farms seem to be getting bigger and bigger.
"Agriculture is very, very important to Bingham County and Idaho but the number of people engaged in farmed is getting smaller," he said.
"I don't have an axe to grind," said Bair. "I do have the the ability to tweak things a little bit and maybe make them a little better."
Bair and his wife have five grown children, nine grandchildren with one more on the way.
Bair is the brother of Idaho State Sen. Steve Bair. He has three more brothers and two sisters.
County Commissioner Cleone Jolley, who is the county commissioner from District 1, will retire at the end of his term in January 2013. Jolley was first elected to this position in 2001.